Friday, January 12, 2007

Why I Love a Hockey Game

Just thinking about the '33 Things to do Before I Turn 34' list makes my brains ache, so I am taking a pass on that just for the moment. But in the after glow of going to our first hockey game, since the league started back up, last night... I will tell you why I love a hockey game.

1) The hockey fans. They are rabid, they are passionate, they are contagious! They are foul mouthed in the extreme - which you know I love.

You will never find a sporting event with more moustaches and turtlenecks. Seriously, it's like the wardrobe of the hockey fan - with the team jersey lovingly draped over the turtleneck, of course. There is very little bling and nary a model in sight. Donald Trump is never in the front row at a hockey game. That's because hockey fans are for real. For. Real.

And they dance. even the Grandmas dance.

2) The speed of the game. You know how they always say 'Ginger Rogers had to do it backwards and in heels'? Hockey players have to do it backwards on ice. It moves so fast, it can make you head spin. And they get to body check. And sometimes they brawl.

Gloves and jerseys off boys!

3) The player's names - Jagr, Shanahan, Kasparaitis, Krog, Hollweg, Ortmeyer... seriously... I could do this all day...

4) The rallying mentality. The Rangers were having their... umm.. buttcheeks handed to them last night, and they were down 0-5 at the end of the second period. When they came out on the ice for the third period they were boo-ed. They were bums! But in the first eleven minutes of the third period they scored four points and they were back in the game.

Our hometown heroes.

They still lost, but those eleven minutes were pretty great.

5) It makes me want to skate on our pond. Not that our pond is frozen, because it's been too warm. But still, I'd like to. In theory. I do have skates, y'know!

6) Slapshot. Really, just the best, funniest sports movie ever made. Easily my favorite. Hee! The Hanson Brothers! Paul Newman! Something you should do before you are thirty six is rent that movie.*

And go to a hockey game.

*Miracle was pretty good too. And Mystery, Alaska. And I know you love football now, so one of my other favorites is Any Given Sunday...